SIGNING DAY PREVIEW: Defensive end Chris Whittaker
Cats Illustrated isn't waiting until National Signing Day to get you ready for all the action. We're rolling out Signing Day content all week.
In our new Signing Day Preview series we'll profile every single one of Kentucky's 2017 early enrollees as well as those who won't be signing until Wednesday.
STATUS: Will sign on Wednesday and enroll in June.
RESUME: Whittaker had 77 tackles, 10.5 sacks, 22 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries for Chaminade-Madonna as a senior in 2016.
RECRUITING HISTORY: Whittaker was once committed to Central Florida just like fellow UK commit Sebastien Dolcine. He had other major conference offers besides Kentucky, and the early UCF commitment had something to do with a desire, at one point, to stay close to home. He took a late official visit to Lexington and that all but sealed the deal with Whittaker flipping to the Cats. He did not waver after his commitment. It probably helped that he's teammates with fellow UK commit Joshua Ali at Chaminade-Madonna.
SCOUTING REPORT: Whittaker is an athletic edge rusher who has tremendous size for the position he's expected to play at Kentucky. While Whittaker was not recruited strictly as a Jack, per se, he was recruited as a defensive end who is able to stand up and rush off the edge as a hybrid linebacker of sorts. That's what UCF wanted him for and Kentucky has talked about using him in a similar way. He doesn't have elite height or length but has a very good build and comes off the ball with aggression and explosiveness. He can continue to improve against the run and he can work on technique. Getting off blocks will be an important area to focus on for improvement.
CATS ILLUSTRATED PROJECTION: Whittaker, like most players in this class, would benefit from a redshirt but he could be a darkhorse candidate to play early because he's got so much weight on his frame and isn't so much of a project physically. Nonetheless, expect him to need a year for development before he helps with a pass-rushing youth movement beginning in 2018 or 2019. He has big-time potential.
MORE CHRIS WHITTAKER COVERAGE AT CATS ILLUSTRATED
| Size | Speed | Explosion | Pass Rush | Run Defense |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
7/10 |
7/10 |
8/10 |
8/10 |
7/10 |
